Alkaid: Star that shines brightest
by Profoundly Mad
Summary: A HaseoxAlkaid fic. Or to be more accurate a RyouXChika fic. What is in store for Ryou when Chika invites him over to stay with her? Will he get more than he bargined for? My first ever fanfic... if you must flame, be gentle.
1. Prologue

Right... I don't own any of the characters in this fanfic or any .hack characters for that matter. If I did, do you think I would be writing my first ever fanfic?

If you guys don't like this then kiss my shiny, metal ass! j/k Seriously though, at least I tried and considering this is my first ever fan fic, I don't think I did TOO badly... maybe I am just being optimistic. The pairing is HaseoxAlkaid. Or to be more specific, RyouxChika. Hope you enjoy! Oh eh...this will include spoilers by the way, including Vol 3 Spoilers. Just a heads up.

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Prologue

I awoke to the announcement over the loudspeaker. Drowsily, I managed to catch the words "10...minutes...Sapporo". Jesus... I was asleep that whole time? It was true I had been pretty tired lately and honestly, who could blame me? With Shino falling into a coma, AIDA, that bastard Sakaki and Moon Tree, Atoli with her emotional crisis, Ovan being the real Tri-Edge and wanting me to defeat him to save his sister and purge all AIDA from the network, Cubia's return and last but not least Alkaid's coma and return to "The World".

"Alkaid..." I whispered quietly to myself. I honestly didn't know how I felt about her. I didn't realize how important she was to me until she was Pked by an AIDA infected Bordeaux. And by that time, I wanted to tell her so much. I was too blinded to my devotion to Shino to pay any real attention to the signs she had been giving me. "Hot training", the Honeysuckle blades, asking Atoli if we were going out together, all those signs. And I was too much of a fool to notice. When she returned to "The World", I was overjoyed. I distinctly remember holding her close to me, never wanting to let go, never wanting to lose her again. But even then, I was still thinking about Shino.

And ultimately my feelings for Shino were never going to be returned. Atoli decided to go on a journey of self discovery, away from her abusive parents and pitiful excuses for friends and everyone else had issues in their personal life to take care of before they could return to "The World". I remember feeling the dread of being alone again, of being abandoned again. Then... it happened. Alkaid approached me and asked if I would like to go visit and stay with her or a few days in Hokkaido Sapporo. Asking my father if it was ok wasn't a problem. He was going away on yet another business trip, so declining her offer would only make me lonely for a few days.

So here I am now, about to meet a close friend in real life for the first time. Nervous and anxiety didn't even begin to describe what I felt at the moment. I was too deep into my own thoughts and fears that I almost didn't even notice that the train was arriving at the station. I stood up from the somewhat matted seat and grabbed my suitcase. The suitcase contained a few clothes and basic provisions such as a toothbrush, razor for shaving, deodorant, hair styling provisions, that sorta thing with a few books for passing the time included in the suitcase. I walked nervously with other people to the doors of the train which shortly after, opened. I stepped out of the train.

At the station, I could see a large crowd of people gathering. Some were merely traveling to their destination, others were reuniting with friends, family and lovers. I stood there alone, nervous and wondering if she would even show up. Then... I saw her. A woman, no more than the age of about 16 or 17 standing there, waiting for someone. That someone was me. I could instantly recognize her from the picture she sent me of herself. I walked over to her, feeling more nervous by the minute. Feeling sick even. What the hell was wrong with me!? W-why did I feel like his toward her? She looked up and I stared into those beautiful, hazel eyes of hers. This was Alkaid... no, Chika Kuramoto. In the flesh. She too recognized me. She smiled. "Hello Hase... I mean Ryou, I am Chika, it is nice to finally meet you in person!"


	2. Chapter 1

Day 1

I stood there, frozen on the spot. Partially because I was so nervous and partially in awe of her beauty. Eventually I mustered up the courage to reply "T-the pl-pleasure is all mi-ne". Dammit! Stupid feelings! The other guys would probably be laughing if they saw me now. "The Terror of Death" afraid and nervous over a girl. Who could blame me though? Chika looked STUNNING. Her hair was typically Alkaid-ish. In other words she had short, messy hair that had a certain charm to it. Though she was brunette rather than red haired like her online counterpart was. She was dressed up for this occasion, wearing a blue dress that showed her form (and curves too might I add) very well with black high heels. I couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed in my plain white shirt and black pants. Her aroma was fresh, clean and a slight fragrance.

"Y-you look fan-tastic C-chika!"

I noticed that Chika couldn't help herself but to give out a slight blush from that comment. Wow..she blushes a lot, even in the real world. Chika replied "W-why th-thank you". Oh God...now I was the one who was blushing. Changing the subject matter, she took my hand and guided me over to a car, where a man with a thin mustache and a woman were standing. I could safely assume they were Chika's parents.

"Hello Chika, what a handsome young man you brought with you. Is he your boyfriend?" teased Chika's mother. "WHAT!? N-no!" snapped Chika, trying oh-so desperately hard not to blush. Her father turned to me and said "So this is the young man Chika has been talking about so much? Ryou...was it?" to which I replied "Yeah... it's Ryou. Pleasure to meet you Kuramoto-san".

The drive to Chika's home was for the most part, a quiet drive. Mainly because I was too nervous to answer any questions. Chika kept quiet through the drive too. I wonder if she felt the same way? Every so often, I would look at her and be drawn in by her beauty, only to force myself to look away again so she doesn't get creeped out by me staring at her. I was uncomfortable in her presence yet it wasn't an unpleasant feeling either. At long last, we reached the driveway outside her house. From the outside the house was pleasant, with a large garden filled with plants and water features.

I was led inside the house by her family and Chika's father offered to show me to the spare bedroom where I would be sleeping. I left my suitcase in there as he showed me around the house, lounge, kitchen, bathroom, and basement. The spare bedroom was beside Chika's bedroom, directly across was her parents bedroom and Chika's two sisters bedroom (who were away for a few weeks).

"You must be hungry my boy!" Said Chika's father. "Why not unpack your things while Chika and I prepare some ramen?" To which my response was "Yeah, sure", wondering if it was the instant ramen that Chika mentioned before. I unpacked my suitcase, after which I heard the call that the food was ready.

I couldn't care if it was instant ramen or not, the food was delicious! Not only that but it was a new experience to me, sitting at a table together with Chika and her parents. Most of the time, I was just left in on my own and either ate out by myself or made food by myself. My father was rarely home so I pretty much lived by myself. But I enjoyed the company tonight. It made me feel special as we laughed and joked about many things. I was even less nervous and was able to answer a few questions! Afterwards I helped clear out the table. Chika showed me into her room. I was surprised to say the least, her bedroom was much more feminine than I ever imagined when I knew Chika as Alkaid. On one corner lay the terminal she used to log into "The World" and on the other end of the room lay a large bookcase, filled with books. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series were just to name a few as well as some books on astronomy. The most extraordinary things about her room though was her ceiling. On her ceiling was a star constellation map and not only that, the stars glowed in the dark.

"Wow" I said, completely in shock."Isn't it great? I love sleeping under these stars" she replied. "Yeah... come to think of it, isn't the name Alkaid from a star in a constellation?" She smiled, overjoyed that I know something like that "Yep! The name Alkaid comes from Eta Ursae Majoris, which is my favorite star".

The night continued on and eventually I decided to call it an early night. I said goodnight to her family and to Chika, who was waiting outside my room. Then something surprising happened. Chika walked up to me and placed her arms around me and kissed me gently and softly on the cheek. I just stood there in complete shock. Yet.. her kiss was so soft and gentle and..sweet. "Uh... don't get the wrong idea!" she said. "All it was is a goodnight kiss, that is all...". Again with the blushing. Somehow I had difficulty believing her yet I was too tired to ask her about it. As I closed the door behind me, I heard Chika whisper "Goodnight...my sweet, handsome prince...".


	3. Chapter 2

Day 2

I had trouble sleeping that night. I was tired enough to sleep, but it is weird adapting to something I am really not used to. Not only that, Chika was bothering me as well. That kiss was unusual, even if she said it was just a goodnight kiss. Not only that but her words to me bothered me as well. "Sweet, handsome prince"? That was usually reserved for a romantic comment. Is it possible that Chika is interested in me? "No, don't be stupid...just wishful thinking on your part Ryou" said the voice in my head. "What makes you think she is interested in you?"

I opened my mouth and told myself to "shut up!" out loud. Great. Now everyone will think I talk in my sleep. Stupid brain... it is because of my brain that I was such a jackass to people like Atoli, Silabus, Gaspard and many others when I first met them.

What made it worse was that Chika's beauty had gotten to me. Every time I closed my eyes, I fantasized about her. Fantasized about kissing her body everywhere (including her breasts) and I also fantasized about sex with her in God knows how many positions and places. Not exactly a bad thing, as a teenage male it is natural for me to fantasize. But when you are trying to get to sleep in the house of the person you are fantasizing about...it is a different matter.

After a mostly sleepless night, I woke up the next morning. "Time to have a shower" I thought to myself. As I stumbled across into the bathroom and into the shower, I couldn't help but notice that Chika's bedroom door was left ajar. Not paying much attention to it, I turned the knobs for the shower. During my shower...I kept thinking of Chika, kept hoping that she would just walk in through the bathroom door and take a shower together. Damn it! Stop being so horny! I told myself. Little was I to know that my wish almost came true. As I stepped out the shower and tried to dry myself off, Chika walked into the bathroom.

We both froze as her eyes widened as she saw me naked, right in front of her.

"I-I'm so so-rry!" was her eventual response as she turned around, blushing and walked quickly out of the bathroom.

I could hear the sarcastic voice in my head right now. "Good going Ryou, you REALLY impressed her this time". Ignoring the voice, I got dressed and walked downstairs to the dining table. Breakfast was served and Chika, reading a "Dark Tower" novel was sitting at the table, eating her breakfast. She looked up from her book, smiled and said "Good morning, I plan to show you around my favorite places today". She was acting like nothing happened earlier in the bathroom. I took that as a good thing. It meant she wasn't angry at me or anything. And I had no intention of bringing it up again. "Good morning" I replied.

After breakfast and we got prepared, Chika took me to her favorite places that she liked going to. We walked together to a library she goes to frequently, which which a large and old building, which stood proud and tall from the other buildings. Inside were rows upon rows of bookcases and books. Jesus...how many books were in this place? I could make a rough guess at one million at least, probably more books. Chika showed me enthusiastically around all the sections that interested her, War, politics, astronomy, fantasy and went into long speeches about all of them. Truthfully I found it a little boring, yet I still stood in awe and admired Chika for her vast knowledge. She was a very intelligent and knowledgeable girl, something I admit I would never have guess from her online persona of Alkaid.

Afterwards we went to the local park and we both sat down on a nearby bench.

"This is where I go if I want to relax and reflect on my thoughts". I could definitely see why.

There were plenty of trees and scenery in the background. One could easily lose themselves in this place. Yet again Chika surprised me. She rested her head on my shoulders. Could it be..? No. Wishful thinking Ryou. Don't let it get to you. I decided the best reaction at the time was to be unresponsive and just let her rest her head. Soon afterwards, we acted like little kids again, chasing each other rolling around on the freshly cut grass, neither of us could give a damn about our clothes, we both felt alive! Chika...such a fun girl...yet I still feel uncomfortable around her. Does she really like me more than a friend?

Afterwards she showed me to a fast food restaurant which she frequently ate at and also read books there. We grabbed a bite to eat and talked about many things, about what happened in "The World", about Ovan, Sakaki and Moon Tree and even Sirius and Icolo. I admit I often wondered if Sirius and Alkaid were closer than they seemed. Yeah the age difference would be a problem but I of all people was to know that love had no boundaries, especially not one as trivial as age. I often wondered about asking her, but I resisted, fearing that I may upset her.

But even amidst all this, I was getting frustrated though it wasn't really anything she had done wrong...I couldn't stop feeling weird around her. I honestly don't know how to react to her, especially after that kiss last night and that whole escapade in the bathroom earlier this morning and now what happened in the park. I noticed Chika wanted to say something.

"Hm? What is it Chika?"

"Ryou...I.." Chika stuttered, struggling to find the right words.

Now this is where Ryou, the complete and total jackass comes into the picture. My frustration was coming to full light and I could barely control myself. I wanted answers, answers she had and I wanted them now!

"What is it? Come on, spit it out!" I said with an irritated tone

"Wha-what? W-why are you getting angry at me?" replied Chika.

My anger and irritation was beginning to boil up. I tried to keep my cool, but it was difficult. "Why am I getting angry? At times like this you can really piss me off, you know that? You act all weird around me and act suggestive, only to dismiss it the next minute. Half the time I don't know how to react towards you. It is the same in "The World". After all we been through, you act like nothing has happened and then all of a sudden you invite me here. Tell me Chika, what the hell IS the game you are playing at here? Do you get some sort of sadistic kick with toying with my feelings? Is that it?!"

"What!? N-no...I..I.." tears started to roam down Chika's cheeks, obviously upset at my words. I hated that. Weakness. I guess in many ways I was no different from the other members of Icolo. People earned my respect based on usefulness and strength. Or maybe that was what I wanted to force myself to believe. Truthfully I was just snapping at her to vent out my frustration. I would later come to realize this as the phrase "Love hurts".

"And don't start crying either! It is just weak and pathetic, I expected you to be stronger than this! Because I am not seeing Alkaid, the strong and proud woman I admire in "The World" here. All I can see someone who likes to play the victim card." I couldn't believe I didn't have any control of the venom I spat towards Chika. And the shock of losing my cool was only fueling my frustration even further.

What happened next I completely deserved. The pain spread across my cheek instantly and it already started to swell. Chika had slapped me hard across the face. Looking into those tear filled hazel eyes of her, I saw pain, anger, malice and also longing. I knew I hurt her. No...more than that. In her eyes I betrayed her, used and abused her.

"...Fuck you, stupid jerk! You can just go to hell!"

She stormed out of the fast food restaurant, tears streaming down her face. Everyone else in the restaurant looked at me, their glaring eyes filled with disgust and disapproval on their faces. I regretted my words instantly. "Chika wait!" I shouted out as I chased after her. I cried out "CHIKA! I'm..sorry...". But it was too late. She had already gone back home.

I started to head back to her house. Alone. I hated being alone. The walk which would have only taken a few minutes instead felt like a decade. When I walked through the front door, Chika's father ran towards me. "You little bastard! How dare you hurt my daughter like that!". I had no words for my defense. It was true what he said. My actions were inexcusable.

Chika's mother arrived and merely said "Stop it dear, this is a personal problem between them". "But.." "You won't help solve anything. Ryou, I think it would be best if you let Chika cool down a bit before speaking to her again. Do you want something to eat before getting sleep?". I couldn't believe it. Chika's mother asking me if I wanted something to eat at this time. Honestly I couldn't stomach the thought of food. But I knew there would be no point trying to apologize to Chika until she cooled down. "I think I will just have an early night" was my response.

Later that night in bed, I kept replaying that scene in that fast food restaurant over and over again in my head. What HAD I done? Chika put a lot of effort into everything and I just had to screw it up. Why!? This time, no matter how hard I tried, I was the one with tears streaming down my face. I remembered Alkaid...no Chika's words just before she became a Lost One. "Now don't you cry... Boys don't cry do they?". I couldn't help it though, I was really the one who was weak, not Chika. Yet again I was reminded of how much Chika meant to me. I wasn't just sexually attracted to her. I NEEDED her. She was the one who made me happy.

"Chika..." It felt like a hopeless plea.


	4. Chapter 3

Day 3

The next morning, I woke up and walked downstairs. The house was devoid of any life. Mr. and Mrs Kuramoto were nowhere to be seen, not even the old table was set out for breakfast. I really didn't feel like eating any breakfast anyway. Perplexed, I walked back upstairs. Chika's door was still ajar. Out of guilt and indeed my feelings towards her, I decided to talk to Chika. As I opened the door, her once beautiful room was in a state of chaos. Lying on the bed was a familiar figure, devoted into a book. I realized that "The World" and books were Chika's escape from reality. I often wondered if she had been hurt by others a lot that led to her escape from reality. Looking at her face, she was obviously still upset.

"Chika?" "What?" Her voice monotonous and sad. It pained me to hear her voice like that. Yet I kept my voice firm and I replied "Are you ok? Where are your parents?" "They are away for the day. Business. And does it look like I am ok? I guess I must have disappointed you huh? Strong, independent Alkaid, turns out to be weak and powerless. Well you know something? Screw you." This time, in a more angry tone. She didn't seem like she would forgive me easily.

Now let me tell you, I don't swallow pride easily. This is hard for me to do. Most of the time, I would never apologize...but Chika...was a special case. I decided to be honest about how I felt with her interactions with me, and how it made me frustrated when I didn't know how to respond.

"I-I'm sorry Chika. For everything that happened yesterday. I-I didn't know how to respond. Your goodnight kiss before dismissing it, the bathroom incident, you resting your head on my shoulders in the park.". Chika made no response, so I continued on with my confession to her. "Last night I realized something. You make me happy Chika. I play "The World" because I don't have that many friends, and I don't really have a family. But ever since I met you, my life is much more interesting and happy. Sure, we have had struggles against each other that we all laugh at now. Remember when you first met me? You thought I was powerless and took an instant dislike to me. Look how we laugh that off now. Look how far we have gone. We have developed something beautiful from a time when we were at conflict with each other. Arguments will always happen between couples, nothing ever goes 100 right. But it is how we deal with it that matters, how we overcome it and laugh at the good times. That is what matters".

Chika with those beautiful sparkles in her hazel eyes looked up at me, intrigued by what I had to say. I continued on. "I need you Chika. We have the power to overcome this together. I already lost you once in "The World" and when I did I finally realized how important you were to me. Please, don't let me lose you a second time. I want to overcome this with you...I want to protect you."

Chika's face became worrying, as if she was scared of being used and having her trust betrayed again. She was trembling and tears were welling up inside of her. "I don't know... are you sure we could overcome all the hardships, together? Is that a promise? Would you always stand by me, forgive me for every foolish mistake I make? Would you make me happy? Would I make you happy?"

I sat down beside her and held my arm around her body, holding her close to me, just like I did in "The World" when she returned. Only this time it was for real. "Yes, it is a promise" was my final reply. Finally as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from her body, she hugged me, so tightly I almost got a mouthful of her untidy hair and struggled to breathe. She was so warm and cuddly and her skin was tender and soft. She was so beautiful. This time, driven by my impulses and my need to show her my affection, I was the one who gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her cheerful and warm expression changed to a look of shock and surprise, and I feared I screwed up yet again. The voice in my head already planning to tell me off for screwing things up yet again...but no. She smiled.

Drew closer to me and..

KISSED ME ON THE LIPS!?

I could feel my lips being suckled on as she hungered for more. The sweet taste of her mouth was almost orgasmic in itself. Our tongues met and bonded, almost like a struggle to see who would become dominant. After a while, she parted her lips away from mine. "So that's...how you really feel" was the only thing I could say. We rolled over onto her bed and just lay there, hugging each other. Her warmth from her body is incredible! Her arms rested around my abdomen whilst my arms were around her upper body. What I felt...I felt like melting into her arms. I placed my right ear onto her chest and listened for the soft, rhythmic and relaxing heartbeat of hers. From a heart that stopped beating when she fell into a coma, I reminded myself. And after 2 nights of hellish insomnia, I fell asleep into my love, Chika Kuramoto's arms.

When I awoke, it was sometime in the late afternoon. Normally I didn't sleep to this late on. Chika had left my arms and gone downstairs. With an unkempt appearance (and honestly, I couldn't care at this point) I walked downstairs into the lounge where Chika was waiting, watching TV. Specifically the sports channel. I sat down beside her and placed my arm around her, to which she gracefully accepted. We sat there, just the two of us watching Dosankode Sapporo play. We didn't say a word. We just let ourselves be absorbed into the TV and each other. The moment was awkward yet not entirely unpleasant.

Finally, with a sigh she finally asked me "You have to go home again tomorrow, don't you?" It was true, I couldn't say I looked forward to going back. I was dreading it. Going back to my old life of loneliness and playing "The World", my father away from work all the time, my lack of friends in the real world... All I wanted, was to stay with Chika. I sighed and said "Yeah...looks like I have no choice but to go back". Chika, reverted to a more Alkaid-like personality. "My ass you do! Can't you convince you dad to stay for just a few more days?"

Well I could try it I suppose. But I would need to have a good excuse why. I am not entirely sure that saying to my father that I "fell" for the woman I am staying with is a good excuse. I could only really reply with "Let's wait and see".

Shortly afterwards, the front door was being unlocked and the handle was turning. Chika's parents had arrived back home. They saw us before we could even react. Mr. Kuramoto looked at the two of us and froze. Oh crap I thought. I can only hope he doesn't get mad. There was a long period of silence in the room, almost suffocating to the point where I started to feel ill. Luckily, my prayers were answered. He finally responded "Uh...I hope I am not interrupting anything..." I replied "No no! It's fine", breathing a sigh of relief as I did so.

Another night passed...my last night...with Chika. Except this night, would be different. After the lights were out and everyone gone to bed, I slowly crept out of my room and with silent swiftness, entered into Chika's room, all the while praying nobody heard me. I already got lucky earlier but I REALLY didn't want to explain to Mr and Mrs Kuramoto that I was in fact NOT planning on doing anything "naughty" with their daughter. As I approached her bed, Chika, looked up with anticipation, smiling. God she was so beautiful... There, we lay together, under the pseudo-stars of her room, holding, kissing. Loving. Eta Ursae Majoris may be the 35th brightest star. But Alkaid would always, be the star that shines the brightest for me.


	5. Epilogue

Epilogue

I awoke to the sight of Chika, dressed in a white shirt, blue school blazer, long socks and a sexy short skirt. Her school uniform. Of course... she started school again today. I made no effort to hide my arousal. She obviously noticed and let out a small giggle before walking up to me and giving me a flurry of kisses, some of which included her kissing my ears and affectionately nibbling them.

Breakfast was great as usual. Chika's parents didn't seem to notice that I spent the entire night in Chika's room. A good thing I guess. Sighing and preparing for the inevitable, I gave Chika one last kiss of farewell before she set off to school. When she left, I felt like part of myself was "missing" somehow. I decided to call my father, to let him know about going back home. It has been a while since I last talked to him.

"Dad...it's me" My voice was heavy, almost despair ridden. My father sighed, again with a disappointed tone. "I'm sorry son...looks like business has caught up with me again. Do you mind returning home yourself for a few days? Sorry to disappoint you again." Normally, I would be disappointed. Not this time. This time it was great news. I could ask if I could stay a few more days! Spend more time with Chika, the person I wanted to spend the most time with in both the world and "The World". Overjoyed, I responded "Not at all! I can ask Chika's parents if I can stay over longer!" My father with a puzzled tone in his voice replied "Well if it is ok with them...So you and Chika are an item huh? Just don't go overboard and make me a grandfather!"

WHAT THE HELL!?

Unable to stop blushing, I shouted "DAD! I-it's nothing like that". Actually that was partially true. Chika and I hadn't had sexual intercourse yet. In a teasing tone, my father said "Hehehehe Just teasing you Ryou!". The next few days were days Chika and I would remember throughout our lives. Days that would make us happy and laugh. Everything done right. Tours and dates around places like the Sapporo Dome, Sapporo clock tower and the Sapporo TV Tower. Chika Kuramoto, my star of love and hope. Chika Kuramoto, the star that shone brightest for me.


End file.
